Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6

by Peggy L Henderson

  “You abandoned me twice,” he murmured, looking at the ground, not really seeing anything except years of confusion, feeling out of place, and even fear. He slowly raised his head to stare up at the old man. Familiar anger and frustration welled up inside him.

  “You took me to a time I didn’t belong. I understand now why I always felt so out of place in the future,” Cam continued. He laughed scornfully. “All my life, I searched for something familiar, some connection to the people I believed were my parents. When you came for me, I went with you willingly because I thought I was finally going to find what I’d been seeking, but instead, you abandoned me again.” His eyes narrowed, staring at the unwavering gaze of the elder.

  “You were never abandoned,” Naatoyita rasped.

  Cam's spine tensed. He leaned forward, glaring at the old man. "Then what would you call it? You left me with a family in the future, then you brought me to another family when I was a twelve-year-old boy, to an unfamiliar place and time. I didn't know the language or the customs of the people you left me with. I had to struggle again to fit in, and understand what was expected of me. Why have you never told me the truth? Rather than let me wander like a blind man, not knowing who I am. Why couldn't you tell me?" Cam's voice rose with each word.

  “You were too young to understand when I brought you back to your place of birth. You carry a heavy responsibility, Cameahwait. I had to be sure that you were ready before I revealed all of this to you.”

  “What responsibility?” Cam forced the question from his mouth.

  “Naatosi and I are old men. Not even the Sky People live forever. Our time is coming to an end. It falls on you to protect these lands.”

  Cam stared at the elder, then laughed again. “You’re asking the impossible. How am I supposed to protect the lands?”

  “Your family line will be instrumental to protecting these mountains, and making sure they are preserved for generations. You were born to the Sky People, but because of your upbringing, your life is that of an ordinary man. You are now the origin of the Osborne line. The name will carry through the generations to ensure the preservation of our sacred mountains.”

  Cam swallowed. What he was hearing was incomprehensible. He ran a hand over his face again. He’d wanted answers for so long, and now that he had them, it seemed overwhelming. Not once had it entered his mind that he was a descendant of the Sky People. He’d always thought of Kevin James as his father, even if he didn’t feel connected to him. His real father’s name had been Osborne. Just Osborne, or Agwai Puhagand to the Tukudeka.

  “Why hasn’t Mukua killed me, or Mat? Surely he knows that you’ve brought us back.”

  “A Sky People elder cannot kill another man. We can influence the actions of others, but not directly interfere. Mukua can put you in situations that might cause your death, as he has already tried to do, but he cannot kill you by his own hand.”

  Cam sat straighter. It would take time to take in all of this information. Right now, he needed to see to Riley's safety. A sudden thought entered his mind. His eyes darted to Naatoyita, and his heart sped up. Part of him dreaded the answer to the question he needed to ask while another part of him hoped it might be true. Was she one of them?

  “Why did you bring Riley here?”

  The deep furrows in Naatoyita’s forehead wrinkled even more. He cackled loudly, and his eyes sparkled.

  "I thought it would be important for you to get a taste of what it means to truly feel connected to someone so that you would be ready to accept your place here. That is why I sent Riley Bernard to you, Cameahwait. She is a distant descendant of the Tukudeka. That is why I've chosen her for you."

  Cam glared at the old man, and a sinking feeling engulfed him, just as renewed anger tore through him. Riley was here because of him?

  “You chose her?” he sneered. “But did you give her a choice? I ask that you send her back to her time.” It took every effort to keep his voice even.

  Naatoyita shook his head. “It isn’t possible.”

  “Why not?” Cam growled.

  “Riley Bernard is well suited for a life here, with some guidance. She understands the ways of this time. She lives in the past in her own time.” He paused, then added, “She is well-matched to you.”

  Cam sprang to his feet. “It is not for you to decide whether she and I are well-matched,” he said heatedly. “I don’t want her here because of me. You’ve decided my life for me since I was born. I will not allow you to decide Riley’s life for her. I demand that you send her back.”

  Naatoyita groaned, and slowly, almost painfully, rose to his feet. He calmly stepped up to Cam, and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.

  “I cannot send her back. My vessel is with the man in the future.”

  “You have another. You told me once that the man you sent to save me brought Mukua’s vessel to you.”

  The elder’s head moved from side to side. “I am no longer in possession of Mukua’s vessel.”

  Cam cursed, and his stomach twisted in a painful knot. “Who has it?”

  Naatoyita met his hard stare. "Mukua stole his vessel back from me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cam swiped a hand across his face when something tickled his cheek. He brushed the offending strand of hair from his face and opened his eyes. Wide awake now, he bolted to a sitting position. The sheep hide covering him fell away, sending a chill through him. He glanced around the drafty wicciup, and his eyes fell to the empty pallet beside him.

  Riley

  Where was she?

  Cam scrambled to his feet and pushed aside the hide that covered the opening of the crude dwelling. The bright rays of the sun blinded him momentarily, and he held his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the glare. Had he really slept past sunrise?

  He and Naatoyita had talked late into the night, and Naatosi had joined them after tending to Riley.

  "She is asleep, Cameahwait," Naatosi had told him when he'd jumped to his feet to see her. "Her body is bruised from her fall, but other than her arm, she has no serious injuries. I gave her some tea for pain, and it will make her sleep through the night."

  Relieved to hear that she was all right, Cam had gone to check on her, hoping to talk to her. Like the elder had said, she’d been asleep. Naatosi had dressed the wound on her arm with an herbal poultice, and she slept peacefully inside the wicciup under the rocky overhang. Cam had sat beside her and watched her until his legs had gone numb.

  Everything he’d learned so far from Naatoyita had swirled through his mind while keeping his eyes on Riley. His emotions had gone from seething anger about his past, to confusion and uncertainty about his future. He’d stared at Riley’s peaceful face. Right there, in front of him, was his future.

  Naatoyita had been right. Riley was well-matched to him. He’d felt it right from the start. They had both dealt with the feeling of insecurities and finding acceptance, and had persevered. She understood him, and he was learning to understand her. Cam had already hinted to her that they complemented each other.

  While his future was a murky mystery to him, he'd been sure of one thing. He would not force Riley to remain here. Until he found Mukua and took the vessel from him somehow, she was stuck in this time, but there was always the slim chance that her cowardly companion, Jeffrey, would come back for her. That thought sent an irrational wave of jealousy through him, but as sure as he breathed, it would be her choice whether she remained with him or went home to her time.

  Once the sun had set, he’d made a pallet next to her, the first time he’d done so since sharing the buffalo hide with her. He’d left to join the elders by their fire, and they had talked late into the night.

  Cam had asked countless questions about his real family, curiosity getting the better of him. He’d wanted to learn what he could about his mother and father, two people he would never meet. He couldn’t deny that learning about them gave him a sense of connection, and by the time the fire had
burned to glowing coals, he’d felt as if he knew them, at least a little.

  Naatoyita and Naatosi had spoken fondly of the old days, and of Cam’s father, as well as Matunaaga’s father, when the Sky People lived in peace, and alongside the Tukudeka.

  "There were two clans of the Sky People – those whose spirit guide was the bear, and those whose guide was the wolf," Naatosi had said. "We lived in peace for hundreds of years until there was disagreement among the clans about our sacred mountains. It was foretold that the land would not remain as it was, that people would come, and plunder and alter it as they saw fit. The Wolf Clan didn't believe such a thing would come to pass, and didn't share in our beliefs for the preservations of the sacred mountains."

  “The days of the Sky People have come to an end,” Naatoyita chimed in. “Soon, there will be no more. Naatosi and I will have done all we can to see to the future of the sacred mountains.”

  Cam’s eyes had volleyed between the elders as they told their tale.

  “Mukua, in his anger and grief over the death of his wife, told us he was no longer part of the Bear Clan, but had adopted the beliefs of the Wolf Clan,” Naatoyita had continued. “He remains a problem as long as he possesses his vessel. He is consumed with anger and hate, and continues to make trouble.”

  "I plan to find him and take the vessel from him," Cam had said adamantly. "I need it to return Riley to her time if she wishes to go." His gaze had locked with Naatoyita. "It will be her choice," he added with unwavering finality to his tone.

  Cam’s eyes had narrowed when the two brothers had exchanged a quick look, but Naatoyita had turned his eyes back on him and nodded.

  “You have learned much today, Cameahwait,” Naatosi had said, changing the direction of the conversation. “It is now up to you what you do with this knowledge. Once Naatoyita and I, and Mukua, are gone, we will become mere memories, legends to be told around the campfires of the Tukudeka. My brother and I are confident that you will make the right decision.” Naatosi smiled a toothless smile at him. “You and Matunaaga have grown into respectable hunters.”

  “What about Matunaaga?” Cam had glanced from one elder to the other. Surely, Mat was here for the same reasons as he.

  “Matunaaga will find out his purpose soon. His legacy will cross with yours, but he will travel a different path than you.”

  Cam had frowned, but didn’t ask the elder to elaborate on what he meant. He was accustomed to them speaking in riddles, but one question did beg for an answer.

  “You said there were three of us. Where is the third?”

  Naatoyita’s face had turned serious. “Safe for now. Mukua has no knowledge of the third survivor’s whereabouts.”

  There had been another quick exchange of looks between the two elders. There was something they hadn’t told him. Cam had shrugged it off, as much as he’d wanted to know. He should have known that he wasn’t going to receive a clear answer. What he’d already learned was enough information to process for the time being.

  Dawn was nearly ready to break through the darkness of the night, when Naatosi had patted Cam’s arm, and announced that it was time to get some sleep.

  “When the sun rises, take your woman to the valley you call home. Deliver a message to Matunaaga that I wish to see him.”

  His woman.

  “Riley is not to know about any of this,” Cam had said firmly, staring from one elder to the other. “It will be her decision, and hers alone, whether she chooses me, or her life in the future.”

  He’d nodded at the two men and headed for the wicciup, putting an end to the discussion. Without making a sound, he’d lain next to Riley, and had closed his eyes. Sleep hadn’t come quickly, and the few hours he did get hadn’t refreshed his mind, but Cam shook off the tired feeling, and scanned the camp. There was only a slight breeze this morning, which would, no doubt, pick up again by the afternoon, but he planned to be well off the mountain by then.

  A warm sensation doused him from head to foot at the sight of Riley sitting on a large boulder overlooking the vast valley to the south. The valley he called home. Her loose hair danced around her face in the breeze, and she held the small pouch he’d given her in her hands.

  She looked up when he approached, her eyes wide and full of questions. He sat beside her, his mind blank regarding what to say to her first.

  "My glasses." Her quiet voice cracked, and there was a forced smile on her face. She reached into the pouch, pulled out her eyewear, and held it up to him. It looked as if a bison had stepped on it. The glass piece on one side was missing while the other one was cracked in several places, making it look like a spider web. The frame was completely bent.

  “They’re broken,” she whispered the obvious.

  Cam reached out, and took the mangled glasses from her.

  “It must have happened during my tumble down the mountain.”

  Cam took the pouch from her hand, and stuffed the eyewear back into it.

  “You don’t need them,” he murmured. “I’m still not clear why you have a need to hide behind glasses.”

  Riley glanced up, and their eyes met. “It defines who I am,” she said softly.

  Cam frowned, and shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  Riley sniffed. She swiped a hand over her eyes, and laughed. Her smile was genuine this time, and Cam’s heart squeezed in his chest. Her gaze drifted from looking off into the distance to him.

  “No, I suppose you wouldn’t understand.” She shifted on her haunches, and faced him more fully. “Imagine yourself without your bow, or your other weapons. You need them to hunt, right? Your bow defines you as a hunter. It makes you feel safe.”

  Cam nodded, not really clear about the comparison. “How do your glasses keep you safe?”

  Riley raised her chin. "Well, they define me as a . . ." she hesitated, then her smile brightened. She shook her head, sat up, and squared her shoulders as if something had finally occurred to her. "They define me as an intellectual badass."

  Cam’s brows rose. He laughed when she did. “I still don’t think I understand.”

  If her glasses defined her in her society for being an intelligent woman the way his bow defined him as a hunter, then he was sorry that her glasses had broken, and there was no way to fix them or replace them, at least not in this time.

  Riley held out the pouch to him. “You’re right, Cameron. You’ve made me see that I don’t need them. I hid behind my glasses so that people outside my social circle didn’t approach me. I used them as a barrier, to keep myself from getting hurt again.” She raised her chin, and looked him in the eyes. “Thank you for helping me find my confidence.”

  “Once I teach you how to make a proper campfire, you’ll be well on your way to being a badass at more than knowing what’s written in your books.”

  He cringed at his words. His intent had been to keep the conversation light, but this was a hell of a way to tell her that she wasn’t going to be going home, at least not yet. Riley’s smile faded slightly, and she scrutinized him with her inquisitive eyes.

  “Here,” Cam placed the pouch back in her palm. “Free yourself.”

  She tilted her head, a puzzled look on her face. “How?”

  Cam shrugged, then glanced off into the distance. “Throw the pouch off this mountain.”

  Riley stood. She leaned forward, looking down the steep incline. She hesitated for only a moment. Nodding, she reached her hand back, then hurled the pouch through the air. It landed somewhere among the rocks, becoming nearly invisible.

  "Some poor anthropology or archaeology student will come across that pouch someday three hundred years in the future, and not know what to make of it." She laughed, then stepped back, swaying on her feet. Cam caught her before she would have fallen. His arms wrapped around her, drawing her up close to him. Riley stared up into his eyes, and her face sobered.

  "I don't know what Naatosi gave me to drink, but boy, it sure made me sleep like a baby. Either that or I'm ge
tting used to sleeping on leaves and dirt." She gave a quick, nervous laugh. "Looks like I'm still not over the effects."

  Cam loosened his hold when she found her balance, and put a little distance between them. This was neither the time nor the place to kiss her again, with the two elders nearby, probably watching them with satisfaction. He hesitated, then touched her injured arm. Her eyes met his when his fingers grazed her soft skin.

  “How’s your wound?” He leaned forward slightly, and peered down at her.

  Riley’s smile was forced, and she moved her gaze to her arm, where his fingers still caressed her in slow motion.

  “It’s, ah … good.” Her voice cracked, and her chest heaved in a visible intake of breath.

  Cam pulled his hand back.

  She knows she’s not going home.

  Every part of him screamed to pull her back into his arms. He wanted – no, needed - to kiss and hold her again, and tell her that she had nothing to fear. He would get her home somehow, no matter how much he wanted to keep her with him.

  She’s yours.

  He stood straighter. Clearly, there was something troubling on her mind, judging by her body language. This was not how she’d reacted to his touch the day before. Perhaps she had regrets about what had happened between them, now that the shock of falling down the mountain had worn off. He reached out, covering her hand with his. She didn’t pull away.

  “Naatoyita doesn’t have the ability to send you back to your time without his vessel.”

  There. He’d come right out and said it. He held her gaze, every part of him in tune to her reaction to his words. She nodded.

  “I know. Naatosi told me,” she mumbled.

  Cam tensed. What else had the elder revealed to her?

  “There is another elder, Mukua, who has a vessel. I will find him.”

  His grip on her hand tightened. Her eyes widened, locked on his as if she were trying to read his mind. If that were possible, she’d see that sending her home would be the hardest thing he would ever have to do. He released her hand, and stood.